Colton Iverson is used to hitting his head on the ceiling. After all, he is 6-foot-10; it comes with the territory of being tall.

That’s exactly what happened to him at the University of Minnesota following his junior season in 2010-11 with coach Tubby Smith and his staff — Iverson felt he’d hit the ceiling once again. Instead of gutting out one final year of eligibility with the Gophers, feeling his game would see no positive change, he decided to look elsewhere.

With a little guidance from former CSU forward Travis Busch, who also transferred to Fort Collins from Minnesota, and knowing the type of success move-ins have in the Mountain West, Iverson ultimately decided to be a Ram for one reason — it was his best opportunity to improve as a basketball player.

Previous coach Tim Miles welcomed him to Colorado State University with open arms, and even though he had to sit last season due to NCAA transfer regulations, the wait was worth it.

“I was really expanding my game, working on everything from my footwork to defensive positioning and not fouling,” said Iverson, who’s picked up only 10 fouls in 143 minutes this fall. “Then coach (Larry) Eustachy came in, and that’s probably the best thing that happened to me, actually. He’s really invested his time in me and I’m getting better every day under this staff.”

Five games into the season, all of the hard work has been evident.

Iverson was more of a contributor in Minneapolis. At CSU, he has instantly become “the man.”

He leads the Rams with 16.6 points per game, scoring 18 thrice. Second on the team in rebounds with 11 a game, setting a career-best with 13 against both Denver and Northern Colorado. Two MW Player of the Week awards, a seemingly unstoppable force at the post and, perhaps most telling of all, he’s connected on 75 percent of his free throw attempts. In three years at Minnesota, he never shot better than 57.

Having a big body at the post to crash the glass and draw fouls in the paint is an element senior guard Wes Eikmeier doesn’t think the Rams have had since Andy Ogide graduated in 2011. But despite Ogide’s 6-9, 245-pound frame, his skill set made him more fitting of a small or power forward role than a center.

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What Iverson brings to the table could be argued CSU has missed since Stuart Creason in 2007 — maybe even Jason Smith before that.

“Colton is a lot different than AO. Their games are a lot different. I don’t see a lot of comparisons between the two because their games are drastically different,” forward Pierce Hornung said. “Having him is huge. Colton is a monster down low and it’s opened up a lot for everyone on the team. From the shooters to myself being able to stay true to my position.

“To have a guy, defensively, to alter and block shots, it’s something we haven’t had since I’ve been here. It’s changed our game with what we can do on both offense and defense.”

He’s a game-changer, no way around it. Even if Iverson is too humble to say it himself, his teammates and coach will. CSU is 5-0, but had he not averaged 17 points and 10.5 rebounds in the Rams’ two closest games — 7-point wins over Denver and Montana — the green and gold could easily be sitting at 3-2.

Though Eustachy wouldn’t say whether Minnesota made a mistake by letting Iverson get away, he is thankful his CSU squad has a big man to feed this season.

“He would change any team. You could put him on my team last year (Southern Miss), Minnesota last year, any team in any league, he makes things hard and is a big part of trying to stop us,” Eustachy said. “I didn’t know he’d play this well so early. How would I? What I really want him to do is do it against teams in our league — that’s the big test.

“He’s a good player, but he’s a better kid. The biggest thing is, he likes to play basketball, which is unusual for his size. Guys are usually just playing because they’re that big. He loves to play and would do it even if he was 5-11. That’s what he really has going for him.”